One year of the Iron Range: Over 500 tests conducted by defense industry manufacturers

A year ago, the Ministry of Defence, together with the Ministry for Strategic Industries and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, launched the ‘Iron Range’—a service enabling defense industry manufacturers to conduct fast and affordable model testing during the design stages.

In its first year, the service handled nearly 750 testing applications from defense industry manufacturers, completing more than 550 of them. 

Prototypes are tested at state-of-the-art ranges fitted with the required equipment for different categories of weapons and military equipment, including the simulation of radio interference and other conditions replicating combat environments. 

Manufacturers receive professional assessments, consultations, and feedback from the military. This accelerates the process of advancing developments to technological readiness. The service also helps streamline the codification process for new defense products.

“It is a fast and effective bridge between concept and the frontline. Manufacturers receive immediate and valuable feedback from the military on their weapon models. The faster we test and bring new solutions into production, the sooner they reach the Defence Forces,” said Anna Gvozdiar, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

Access to the testing ranges is provided free of charge to all defense industry manufacturers. Each manufacturer can access the service repeatedly during the course of product development. 

Testing applications may be submitted online through a unified form on the service’s website: poligon.zsu.gov.ua.

The ‘Iron Range’ project is carried out by the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Central Directorate for Innovation Activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Center for Scaling Technological Solutions, Brave1 platform, and the State Scientific Research Institute of Armament and Military Equipment Testing and Certification.